High school football: Eagles able to answer adversity

Comeback win over Marian has Adams a surprising 2-0

Chaos and confusion crippled the Adams High School effort in a frustrating first half in Friday’s non-league football game against Marian.

Players were continually tardy getting into the game or altogether absent. Play-calls into the offense were occasionally met with quizzical looks from the guys in the huddle. Unable to find their second winds on a warm night, defensive players constantly asked out by tapping the tops of their helmets. Replacements seldom arrived. After the defense allowed another big play, senior Jalen White spoke loud and clear - wake up, he told his teammates. Now.

When Adams fell behind 10-0 and 20-6 before halftime, it seemed like the last place anyone wanted to be was inside the Eagles’ locker room. But something special happened at the half inside those four concrete walls. Instead of dropping their heads and letting go of their resolve, the Eagles came together in a big way.

“We still had that edge,” said coach Craig Redman, who watched his team roar back for a 30-20 victory to start 2-0 for the first time since 1991. “You saw it on our kids’ faces and the way they talked of how they wanted to win.

“They were going to do anything they could to win and it showed in the second half.”

Redman’s tone with his team remained as even and understanding as it was during summer two-a-day practices. Adversity, he often counsels his club, will surface in life outside the game. How they respond is a true test of their character, and be a measure of maturity.

“I put it back in their hands – what are you going to do?” Redman said. “You could tell the kids were focused and talked amongst themselves. The second half showed that mental strength we have.”

A win Friday against Clay (2-0) gives Adams one more win than it registered all last season and moves the Eagles to 3-0 for the first time since going 9-2 overall, 6-1 in the NIC, in 1985.

“I’ve always felt that they might be the best team in the city,” Marian coach Reggie Glon said.

Friday’s win tied the mark for the most wins the Adams seniors have enjoyed in their prep careers. But they don’t want to stop at two. They want more. It’s time to get greedy. The Eagles last enjoyed a winning season in 1993, but the seniors believe this is their year to erase what has long been an extended run of frustration and futility on the city’s east side.

Heading into the Marian game, the rally cry was 1991. Now it’s 1985.

“That really means a lot to us,” said quarterback Frank Karczewski, who threw for 204 yards and two touchdowns in the win over Marian. “All offseason, all we were talking about was working and playing with heart. We knew we had the talent, but we had to play with heart. We’re doing it snap by snap, down by down, play by play.

“This team is incredible.”

Getting defensive

Penn’s self-proclaimed “Wild Bunch” defense was anything but in the opener against Valparaiso. Looking to compensate for the graduation of the unit’s top five tacklers off last season’s state finals squad, including linebacker Sam Laidig (117 tackles) and end Dylan Heyvaert (81 tackles, 20 for loss), the No. 3 (Class 5-A) Kingsmen allowed 28 points in the seven-point victory over a sneaky solid Valparaiso team that gave top-ranked Carmel a scare (losing at home 21-20) in Week 2.

It was the most points Penn allowed in a season home opener since a 34-0 loss to Kokomo in 1972.

“We’d make a play, make a play and then give up a big play,” said Kingsmen coach Cory Yeoman. “We didn’t tackle really well.”

It was cause for some concern heading into the rivalry game against Mishawaka, which racked up 480 rushing yards and 57 points in its opener against Portage.

“We could get better defensively and it might not show up on the scoreboard (against Mishawaka),” Yeoman said. “It was a going to be a challenge.”

Penn smothered Mishawaka quarterback Sam Schrader and the Cavemen option offense. The Kingsmen allowed 109 rushing yards and zero passing yards to grind out a 21-7 victory and move to 2-0 for the second consecutive season and the fourth time in the last six years.

What improved defensively?

Effort and execution.

“They weren’t happy with the way we played against Valparaiso,” Yeoman said of his defensive unit. “They knew they had to pick it up. Our kids are getting better.”

Bounce-back time

Marian made it look oh-so-easy in its opener against DeKalb. The Knights scored 48 points and coasted to victory. Heading into its Week 2 game against Adams, Marian was ranked fourth in Class 3-A and jumped to a two-touchdown lead late in the second half after scoring 10 points in less than two minutes.

A 30-20 loss to the Eagles, where the Knights committed 11 penalties for 90 yards, many of those coming in critical situations, dropped coach Reggie Glon’s team to 1-1 and out of the top 10 heading into Friday’s NIC opener at home against, gulp, undefeated Penn.

“They better bounce back,” Glon said of his team. “We’re going to keep pushing. You better not feel sorry for yourself because you’ve got to play Penn.”

Penn has beaten Marian in each of the last five meetings dating back to 2007. The Knights last won a game against the Kingsmen in 1973, a 6-0 victory that capped a four-year run of series wins, including one conquest of 54-0.

Getting back on track for Marian might mean getting running back Michael Whitfield going again. Whitfield did a little of everything in the opener, scoring five touchdowns and rushing for 147 yards. Against Adams, he scored only once, on a 16-yard pass from Vince Ravotto, and carried nine times for 43 yards. Eighteen of those came on his first carry of the game.

Happening Hummel

Penn senior running back Matt Hummel continues to build toward a special senior season. A year ago as a backup who battled a knee injury, Hummel carried 19 times for 82 yards and one touchdown. Four Kingsmen finished with more rushing yards than the 5-foot-11, 205-pound Hummel.

Two games into his final year, Hummel has rushed for 255 yards and three touchdowns. He ran nine times for 136 yards and two scores in the victory over Valparaiso despite sitting out the second half with a sore knee. Hummel then carried 17 times for 119 yards and another score in the win over Mishawaka.

“He’s a big back who can get outside, so it’s tough for a cornerback to come up and tackle him,” Yeoman said. “He does a lot of things well for us.”

Each time it seems the Kingsmen need a hard yard or two or three, or need to get its offense going, No. 27 is handed the ball before the pile, and the chains, move.

“It’s interesting to see what takes place during a kid’s senior year,” Yeoman said. “They know it’s their time and they’re ready to deliver. Once they get their spot, no one is going to take it away from them.”